In a fairly successful bid to rescue KC and the Sunshine Band from their purgatorial fate as wedding disco floor fillers, tired advertising jingles and golden oldie radio fodder, ‘Get Down Tonight’ showing at the Charring Cross Theatre, offers a brief aperture into the nascent days of disco in the 1970s. Adapted from the Edinburgh Festival show ‘Who Do Ya Love’, this musical sweeps the audience through a nostalgic whirlwind of polyrhythmic horns and party driven lyricism, as the cast of eight become conduits for the disco revolution that coursed through the decade. Harry Wayne Casey (Ross Harman), better known as KC, and his radiant ensemble have deftly sharpened their dancefloor weapons to fine edge, powering through more than twenty of the band’s dizzying and infectious hits that first ignited disco fever in America, now reimagined fifty years later with a theatrical flourish.
Following the life of KC, a kid from Miami with big dreams of becoming an entertainer but tethered to his record store job and overbearing manager, he spends his time with chipper sidekick Dee (Paige Fenlon), whose boundless enthusiasm teeters on the unbearable, and Gina (Annabelle Terry), whose crush on KC is anything but discreet. When their old pal Orly (Adam Taylor) returns from the Vietnam war, the quartet lounge in Dee’s loft, smoking pot, listening to vinyl and tossing out half-baked musing about rejecting conformity. Vowing lifelong friendship, KC embarks on a brief fling with Orly, quits his job, wins a record competition and is suddenly catapulted to fame. The show’s pacing is erratic, leaping a decade ahead and ending with a rushed gloss over the band’s true heyday.
All too aware of its own form, the musical leans on meta-theatrical tricks to prop up a flimsy script. KC and Dee repeatedly break character, with Dee bluntly narrating the plot while a petulant KC swats away any conflict and instead cherry picks only the feel-good moments; a toe-curling narrative cop out that feels fatigued and superficial. Barely paying lip service to the era’s politics, including the Vietnam War, AIDs crisis and racial tensions, the script would benefit from a tougher, more emotionally charged rewrite to bolster character and context, giving the uplifting moments greater weight through contrast. That said, Harry Wayne Casey was directly involved in the script, unashamedly declaring that he did not want to ‘spin the usual story about a musician’s life’ but instead share the ‘dreams I had of who I wanted to be’, so perhaps any expectation of profundity is unrealistic.
None of this seemed to hinder the audience’s enjoyment, who clapped along in alarmingly flammable sequin outfits to match the cast’s own spangly flares. With heart thumping hits like ‘I’m Your Boogie Man’, ‘Boogie Shoes’ and ‘That’s the Way I Like It’, the vocals and choreography, expertly staged by director Lisa Stevens, certainly redeemed the musical’s plot holes and delivered exactly what it promised; the story of KC and the Sunshine Band, neatly packaged up in 80 minutes of feel good funky classics.
Get Down Tonight is now on show at Charring Cross Theatre until 15th November. Tickets Charing Cross Theatre
Featured Image: Get-Down-Tonight – Full Cast, Credit-Danny-Kaan
Review by Florence Marling
Read Florence’s latest Feature: Bastien Keb and Shaun Curtis at the Strongroom Bar, 24th April 2025
